A man Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) accused of being part of a group of “predators” in a stunning House floor speech is suing her for defamation.
The complaint, filed Friday in federal court, sets up a battle over the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause, which shields lawmakers against lawsuits for things they say and do as part of their legislative work. Mace’s office cited the protection in a press release about her floor remarks.
Brian Musgrave was one of four men Mace named in the February speech in which she made a series of allegations of sexual abuse and voyeurism, naming Musgrave, her ex-fiance, and two other South Carolina men. All of the men have denied wrongdoing.
“Now, it is with unbridled disgust that Brian Musgrave through this lawsuit is forced to utter the words: ‘I am not a rapist.’ ‘I am not a predator.’ ‘I am not a sex trafficker,’” the lawsuit states.
“Through this action, Brian Musgrave seeks to recover that which has been wrongfully taken from him – his good name and reputation,” it continues.